Many people prefer to write their cases in a text document and then move that into a case. Others would, for the sake of time, rather avoid the editor entirely and simply work with a script that gets imported. Catalysis lets you do exactly that! It's a scripting language that takes specially formatted text documents (scripts) and outputs a fully functional AAO case! If you're interested, you can find the latest executable release, the user guide, and the Python 3 version. Feel free to ask here if you have questions!

FAQDidn't Jean of mArc do this years ago with his Text2Case?Yes, and that program directly inspired Text2Case. Unlike Text2Case, however, Catalysis supports all current features of the editor and will continue to do so as AAO develops and has a comprehensive set of error messages.Does Catalysis have features that the editor doesn't? Does the editor have features that Catalysis doesn't?Catalysis can do everything the editor can, and it also has a few features that the editor does not yet have. It allows you to define macros, which are like frame presets, but Catalysis macros persist even after you close the document. It also allows you to use expressions for the point command, which are not supported in the editor. Lastly, it enables you to set the text color of a frame, which is not currently enabled in the editor. All of these are planned to be added to the editor in the near future, with the text color change in active development.Does this have any time-saving features, besides the "script importing"?Yes! Catalysis automatically adds pauses for punctuation, and does word wrapping for you. Those who don't want those features can toggle them off.I don't care about that other stuff, so why use a script format?If the editor works for you, great! But if you would write a text script anyways, why waste time putting that into the editor? Also, once you've learned the Catalysis syntax, writing text can be much faster than navigating the editor interface.What skills do I need to use this? Do I need programming?No programming experience is necessary. However, you do need the ability to learn and use the syntax, as well as fix errors in your script as Catalysis points them out. Those who are already familiar with a scripting language such as LaTeX should be fine, and those who aren't can pick up the skills easily.How hard is it to learn Catalysis?Different parts of the language have different learning curves. Expressions for actions are harder, but the core syntax is fairly easy.Is this tested?Catalysis has 400+ tests to make sure all individual functions are working. While I can't guarantee that the system will always work, extensive testing has been done to guard against errors, and I will swiftly deal with any new errors that I hear about.Has Unas approved of this?Right now, nobody has used Catalysis to make a full case, which is the ultimate test. I wouldn't feel comfortable even letting Unas approve this until that milestone has been reached.Is Catalysis safe to use? Can it give my computer a virus? I see there's one part that asks for my password. Is this some phishing attack?Catalysis is absolutely safe! I wouldn't release this code if I thought it might cause problems, and you are free to look over the source code if you have concerns. As for your password, that is only for an optional feature to automate uploading your case, once Catalysis has converted it. If you don't want to write your password in the document, you don't have to, but it will mean you can't automate uploading your converted case. If you do want to automate the uploading, then putting your password in the file is perfectly safe. It's used to login to AAO for you, and nothing more. If you don't show anybody the file, nobody sees your password.Can I use Catalysis freely?Of course! All I ask is that I get credit.What's this about encoding?/Why is Catalysis not reading my first line correctly?To ensure that special characters stay special, starting with version 0.6.0, Catalysis requires that all files be in UTF-8 encoding. Look up how your text editor handles them. (Encodings like ASCII are fine because they're a smaller part of UTF-8, but encodings like Latin-1 are not.)I have feedback/questons/bug reports about Catalysis. What do I do?Either reply in this topic, or shoot me a PM. I'll respond to both quickly. If you have a bug report, I may ask to see your Catalysis files over PM.I'm fluent in Python. Can I help improve Catalysis?Sure. Just look at the GitHub page and start a commit.Is Catalysis going to change soon?It's still early enough that errors can pop up, and new features will be suggested, and I'll be fixing those as I see them.

As for planned changes or changes I know will be coming, Catalysis shouldn't change much on the user end. There are two small features I want to add (control over handling four-liners, and an improved way to select regions), but I'm not planning to work on those for a while.Can I see a demo?Sure. This trial was produced by the script here.

Version 0.5.0 is out. This includes the following changes:Set an err.txt file to be generated with traceback information upon encountering an unknown error.Fixed an error caused by trying to use Unicode on a Windows device, resulting in a file encoding that Catalysis couldn't read.Fixed a crash when trying to call a black background by not giving an argument to place.Silenced the error from failure to open the catalyzed case in the editor.Put up a message that the catalyzed case is going to be opened in the editor.Added the new "startup" configuration setting, which determines the default mode for startup animations.Changed syntax for the point command.Let the point command refer to an object, instead of just a region.Fixed a glitch preventing subjects from being added to objects with space-separated names.Added a default setting to hide previous characters when the place is displayed, unless the erase command has already been used on this frame.Added a default setting to set the camera position to that of the most recently sprite-set/positioned person, if no position was given initially.Fixed a glitch regarding multiline comments in macros.

Additionally, a sample case is included as test_case, and you can see the trial it produces here.

All users are encouraged to get the new version. Please give me any further feedback, errors, or questions!

[D]isordered speech is not so much injury to the lips that give it forth, as to the disproportion and incoherence of things in themselves, so negligently expressed. ~ Ben Jonson

Updated to Version 0.6.0. The big change is that now you must have your files in UTF-8 encoding. Without going into gory technical details, this is to make sure that special characters are handled properly. If Catalysis can't read your first line properly, or Catalysis tells you something about the encoding, it's more than likely an encoding problem.

Most text editors support encoding changes, so read up on how yours handles them!

[D]isordered speech is not so much injury to the lips that give it forth, as to the disproportion and incoherence of things in themselves, so negligently expressed. ~ Ben Jonson

The next version is out, in the latest move in the war on file encodings. Python 3 is now required, due to its much saner handling of unicode.

* Migrated to Python3.* Auto-uploading will now open your case with the default browser, whatever it is.* Fixed a bug where non-ASCII characters would break error reporting.* Renamed revealFrame to revFrame for consistency.* Updated documentation on the positioning system.

[D]isordered speech is not so much injury to the lips that give it forth, as to the disproportion and incoherence of things in themselves, so negligently expressed. ~ Ben Jonson

I did a slight update to v0.8.1 earlier, to fix a bug in the latest version where using custom sprites would mess with the sprite order. It's fixed now! Be sure to let me know if there are other glitches.

[D]isordered speech is not so much injury to the lips that give it forth, as to the disproportion and incoherence of things in themselves, so negligently expressed. ~ Ben Jonson